Wall rail system

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a wall rail system for a shelf system or similar, comprising at least one wall rail which is embodied as a U-shaped profile, comprising a rear part which is secured to a wall, two lateral limbs which are oriented away from the wall, one rear-sided cavity which extends in the longitudinal direction on the side of the rear part which is oriented towards the wall, and at least one connecting element for connecting two wall rails which push against each other in the longitudinal direction, said connecting element being received in a connected state of the two wall rails in the rear-sided cavity. The connecting element reliably connects, fixes, and aligns the rails in relation to each other without engaging in the usable space between the lateral limbs and the rear side of the U-profile.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/281,466 filed Sep. 2, 2008, titled “WALL RAIL SYSTEM”, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a wall rail system for suspending shelfsupports or similar, in order to form a shelf system which can be usedin a flexible and versatile manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such known shelf systems are commonly used and have proved to bepractical in domestic and commercial applications as a means ofproviding a large surface area for storing books, goods, files andsimilar, for example. Since such shelf systems can be extended upwardsand towards the side in any manner, they offer a high degree offlexibility.

In some situations, especially in commercial applications, shelf heightsof three metres, four metres or more are common. For reasons oftransport, storage and handling, however, wall rails of more than 1.5 to2 metres are impractical and uncommon. It is therefore necessary tomount two or more wall rails one above the other. This results in a needfor fixing means which will enable two wall rails abutting with oneanother in the longitudinal direction to be oriented with respect to oneanother and secured to one another.

A common type of vertical wall rails are so-called U-section rails,whereby a rear part parallel with the wall is secured to the wall, fromwhich rear part two lateral limbs extend forwards. The limbs may beprovided with bores, orifices or similar for suspending shelf supportsor similar or vertical notches for guiding moving retaining elements orsimilar. To avoid restricting the use of U-section rails, the spaceformed between the rear part and lateral limbs should be as unencumberedas possible.

GB-A-1 503 214 discloses a wall rail in the form of a U-shaped sectionwith a rear part which can be secured to a wall and two lateral limbsfacing away from the wall and a groove extending in the longitudinaldirection of the wall rail which forms a wall-side cavity.

Posts for free-standing shelves are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,155,which are provided with a plug-in connecting element for connecting twoshelf posts abutting with one another in the longitudinal direction.

EP-A-095 021 discloses ceiling or wall panel strips with a C-shapedcross-section, which abut flush with one another at a connecting pointand are connected to one another by means of panel connectors, which arelikewise C-shaped, which panel connectors are inserted at the sideflanks of the C-shaped section.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the objective of this invention is to propose a wall railsystem with at least a wall rail and a connecting element which enablestwo wall rails with a U-shaped cross-section abutting with one anotherin the longitudinal direction to be reliably secured and the wall railsoriented with respect to one another without essentially restricting theusable space between the lateral limbs and the rear part of theU-section.

In order to achieve this objective, a wall rail system is proposed bythe invention, comprising at least one wall rail in the form of aU-shaped section with a rear part which can be secured to a wall and twolateral limbs facing away from the wall and a rear-side cavity extendingin the longitudinal direction at the face of the rear part directedtowards the wall, and a connecting element for connecting two wall railsabutting with one another in the longitudinal direction, whichconnecting element is accommodated in the rear-side cavity when the wallrails are in a connected state.

The connecting element thus secures the two wall rails abutting with oneanother at their end faces. However, because it is accommodated in thecavity formed on the wall-side behind the rear part of the wall rail,the connecting part does not project into the usable space formedbetween the two lateral limbs and the rear wall of the U-section wallrail. Accordingly, the connecting element does not obstruct the fixingor vertical movement of retaining elements or similar. The wall rail maytherefore be of an extremely compact design.

In one example of a preferred embodiment, the wall rail has first andsecond orifices on at least one lengthways end and the connectingelement has first and second projections on either side for engaging inthe orifices provided in the wall rail. Due to the projections of theconnecting element engaging in the respective orifices of the wallrails, the latter are connected to one another and secured against oneanother.

The first orifice may preferably be provided in the form of a slotdisposed transversely to the longitudinal direction of the wall rail andthe first projections are disposed at the end of the connecting elementfor engaging in the transversely disposed slots of mutually abuttingwall rails, thereby causing the relative position of the wall rails tobe fixed in the longitudinal direction.

The second orifice may also preferably be provided in the form of anessentially rectangular cut-out at the end of the wall rail and thesecond projections of the connecting element are disposed centrally inorder to engage in these second orifices, thereby causing the wall railsto be positioned with respect to one another in the transversedirection.

Due to the combination of a slot-shaped cut-out for positioning in thelongitudinal direction and a rectangular cut-out for positioning in thetransverse direction, a position can be reliably fixed in both thelongitudinal direction and the transverse direction and the railsoriented relative to one another using a connecting element that iscompact, as well as easy and very economical to manufacture.

The connecting element may preferably be an elongate, flat metal elementwith the first and second projections on either side. This islightweight, small and inexpensive to produce.

The side-end first projections of the connecting element may subtend anangle of between 60° and 85°, preferably between 75° and 85°, with thebase plane of the connecting element, which base plane is parallel withthe wall and with the plane of the rear part of the U-section rail. Thischoice of angle makes it easier to fit and secure two wall rails to oneanother and produces an elastic force which connects the two rails toone another.

In one example of a preferred embodiment, the two central projections ofthe connecting element are connected to one another by means of a smallnotch or “crease”, which increases the strength of the connectingelement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained below on the basis of an example of aspecific embodiment and with reference to the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an embodiment of the wall rail systemproposed by the invention viewed in horizontal section.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating an example of an embodiment of theconnecting element proposed by the invention.

FIG. 3 is a view from the front illustrating the two wall rails mutuallyabutting at their ends, based on one example of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a view of the rear face of two wall rails connected to oneanother by means of a connecting element.

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical section showing an example of an embodimentof the wall rail system proposed by the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be explained in detail below with reference toexamples of specific embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a view in horizontal section illustrating an example of anembodiment of the wall rail system proposed by the invention. Itcomprises a wall rail 10 with a U-shaped cross-section and a connectingelement 20 for connecting two wall rails abutting with one another attheir lengthways ends (FIGS. 3-5), thus enabling two or more wall railsto be mounted one above the other on a wall, a partition wall, a frameor similar. The wall rail as a whole is provided in the form of aU-shaped section with a rear part 12 which can be secured to a wall 50and two lateral limbs 14 standing out from the wall. Grooves, projectingtermination elements or rails or similar may be provided at the frontends of the lateral limbs 14 remote from the wall for accommodatingsliding elements or horizontally displaceable support elements. Theshape and design of the lateral limbs 14 are of no consequence to thisinvention.

The rear part 12 of the wall rail 10, which can be secured to the wallby means of screws for example, has a portion 12 a projecting forwards(i.e. away from the wall), which forms a cavity 15 at the wall side. Theconnecting element 20 for connecting two vertically abutting sectionrails 10 is accommodated in this cavity 15.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an embodiment of a connecting element20 proposed by the invention. It is provided in the form of asubstantially elongate sheet metal part and has two side-end projections21 as well as two central projections 22. The two central projections 22are connected to one another via a notch or “crease”. However, thecentral projections could also be of a different shape. The side-endprojections 21 may be disposed perpendicular to the main plane of theconnecting element, which is parallel with the plane of the wall andwith the rear part 12 of the wall rail 10, or preferably may subtend anangle a of between 60° and 85°, preferably between 75° and 85°, withthis main plane. This angular position makes it easier to fit theconnecting element and the wall rails. The connecting element 20, whichmay be made from an elastic material such as sheet steel, may also exertan elastic pulling force on the two wall rails to be connected.

FIG. 3 is a view from the front, i.e. in the direction looking towardsthe wall, illustrating an example of an embodiment of this inventioncomprising two wall rails 10 mutually abutting at their ends and FIG. 4is a view from the rear illustrating two wall rails 10 connected to oneanother by a connecting element 20.

In their rear face portion, the wall rails 10 each have a forwardlyprojecting middle portion 12 a, which forms a cavity 15 at its rear face(wall-side). The connecting element 20 for connecting two wall rails 10abutting with one another by their ends is accommodated in this cavity15, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. Orifices 18 may be provided inthe middle portion 12 a of the wall rail 10 for securing the wall railto the wall.

Orifices 17, 19 are also provided in the forwardly projecting middleportion 12 a, close to the lengthways end of the wall rail 12. The firstorifice 17 is provided in the form of a slot disposed in the transversedirection, whilst the second orifice 19 is of a rectangular shape and isdisposed at the end of the middle portion 12 a. In order to connect twowall rails to one another, the side-end projections 21 of the connectingelement 20 engage in the transverse slots 17 and thus cause the wallrails to be secured to one another in the longitudinal direction (seealso FIG. 5). The central projections 22 of the connecting element 20engage in the two adjacently lying orifices 19 and cause the two railsto be secured to one another in the transverse direction. The exactlypositioned engagement of the elongate connecting element 20 at a totalof four points also causes a parallel orientation of the two U-shapedwall rails 10 with respect to one another.

The skilled person will realise that the exact shape of the connectingelement 20 with the projections 21, 22 and the exact shape and positionof the orifices 17, 19 in the wall rail 10 may vary within the contextof this invention.

The invention therefore offers a wall rail system with a wall rail and aconnecting element which enables the rails to be reliably connected,secured and oriented without encroaching into the usable space betweenthe lateral limbs and the rear face of the U-section. The inventiontherefore provides a fixing solution which makes fitting very easy,compact and simple.

1. A wall rail system comprising: at least two wall rails, each wallrail comprising a substantially U-shaped section comprising: a rear partfor securing to a wall surface; two lateral limbs extending from therear part of the wall rail in a perpendicular direction; a rear-sidecavity extending between the two lateral limbs in a longitudinaldirection at the rear face of the rear part; and at least one connectingelement for connecting the two wall rails at mutually abutting ends ofthe wall rails in the longitudinal direction, wherein the rear-sidecavity is configured to accommodate the connecting element to connectthe two wall rails; wherein a front side portion of the connectingelement is configured for contact with an inside surface of therear-side cavity; wherein a backside portion of the connecting elementis configured for contact with the wall surface; wherein the connectingelement further comprises: first projections for engaging in firstorifices of the wall rails, the first projections configured forproviding longitudinal support to the wall rails in a mutually abuttingposition; and second projections for engaging second orifices of the twomutually abutting wall rails, the second projections configured forproviding transverse support to the wall rails in a mutually abuttingposition.
 2. The wall rail system of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond orifices are in the rear part in at least one lengthways end. 3.The wall rail system of claim 2, wherein the first orifices are slotsdisposed transversely to the longitudinal direction of the wall railsand the first projections of the connecting element are disposed at theside-ends of the connecting element, wherein the first projections areconfigured to engage in the first orifices of the mutually abutting wallrails for securing the relative positioning of the wall rails in thelongitudinal direction.
 4. The wall rail system of claim 2, wherein thesecond orifices are cut-outs at the ends of the wall rails and thesecond projections of the connecting element are disposed centrally forengaging in the second orifices of the mutually abutting wall rails. 5.The wall rail system of claim 1, wherein the connecting element is anelongate, flat metal element.
 6. The wall rail system of claim 5,wherein the first projections are located on either side of theconnecting element and extend at an angle of between 60° and 85 with abase plane of the connecting element disposed parallel with the rearface portion of the wall rails.
 7. The wall rail system of claim 2,wherein the first and second projections of the connecting element areconnected to one another via a notch.
 8. The wall rail system of claim1, wherein the rear-side cavity extending in the longitudinal directionof the rear part is formed by a forwardly projecting middle portion ofthe rear part.
 9. The wall rail system of claim 5, wherein the firstprojections are located on either side of the connecting element andextend at an angle of between 75° and 85° with a base plane of theconnecting element disposed parallel with the rear face portion of thewall rails.
 10. The wall rail system of claim 1, wherein the connectingelement does not project into a functional space formed between the twolateral limbs or between the abutting ends of the two wall rails.
 11. Awall rail comprising: a substantially U-shaped section having a backsideportion for contacting a surface of a wall; two lateral limbs extendingperpendicularly from the backside portion and extending in alongitudinal direction along the length of the wall rail; a grooveextending between the two lateral limbs and extending along the lengthof the wall rail in the longitudinal direction, wherein the groove isopen to the backside portion and wherein an inside surface of the grooveis configured to mate with a connecting element and surfaces adjacent tothe groove are configured to contact the surface of the wall; and firstand second apertures in at least one end of the wall rail for couplingwith first and second projections of the connecting element to connecttwo mutually abutting wall rails; wherein the first aperture of the wallrail is configured to couple with a first projection of the connectingelement for providing longitudinal support to the two mutually abuttingwall rails; and wherein the second aperture of the wall rail isconfigured to couple with a second projection of the connecting elementfor providing transverse support to the two mutually abutting wallrails.
 12. The wall rail of claim 11, wherein the first aperture isdisposed transversely to the longitudinal direction of the wall rail andthe second aperture is open at the end of the wall rail.
 13. A wall railconnecting element comprising: a flat elongate sheet of solid materialhaving a front side surface and a backside surface; first and secondprojections disposed at the longitudinal endpoints of the sheet, theprojections extending away from the front side surface of the sheet; acrease disposed in the middle of the sheet separating the twoprojections; wherein the first and second projections are configured tosecurely engage two mutually abutting ends of two wall rails to fix therelative position of the two wall rails in the longitudinal direction,wherein the two wall rails are configured to be secured to a wallsurface; wherein the crease is configured to secure the two mutuallyabutting wall rails in the transverse direction; wherein the front sidesurface is configured for contact with a rear-face of the two mutuallyabutting ends of the two wall rails; and wherein the backside surface isconfigured for contact the wall surface.
 14. The wall rail connectingelement of claim 13, wherein the connecting element comprises an elasticmaterial and further wherein the connecting element is configured toexert an elastic pulling force on the two wall rails to closely couplethe abutting ends of wall rails.
 15. The wall rail connecting element ofclaim 13, wherein the first and second projections are located on eitherend of the sheet and extend inward at an angle of between 75° and 85°with respect to a plane parallel to the backside surface of theconnecting element.
 16. The wall rail connecting element of claim 13,wherein the first and second projections are located on either end ofthe sheet and extend inward at an angle of between 60° and 85° withrespect to a plane parallel to the backside surface of the connectingelement.